The William Hill Foundation was set up in August 2011 with the objective of supporting colleagues and their families in times of extreme financial hardship. The Foundation is a registered company in its own right and acts independently from William Hill. In March 2012 it achieved charitable status and was entered on the Register of Charities for England and Wales no 1146270. The Foundation is financed by the William Hill Group which has pledged £100,000 per annum.

The Directors of the Foundation are legally and morally compelled to use funding wisely in order to try and benefit the maximum number of applicants from across the extensive population covered. Applications are accepted from across the William Hill group internationally. We aim to provide individuals and families with relief in times of real financial hardship.

To date we have been able to pay for essential items and unexpected bills in circumstances where colleagues, their families and friends are unable to afford these and firmly believe the grants awarded have made a real difference.

From our experience to date we have learned that there is a lot of information/support available to colleagues and their families which we encourage them to access sooner rather than later.

As an example, colleagues and their families are able to use the confidential services of the Employee Assistance Helpline by calling 0800 328 1437 (UK Callers) or +44(0)1482 661 814 or emailing advice@wsml.co.uk.
There is a wealth of information on their website -www.employeeassistance.org.uk - Access Code = williamhill

Colleagues can obtain an application form to apply for a grant from the William Hill Foundation via William Hill HR teams or by emailing williamhillfoundation@williamhill.co.uk. The Directors are only able to consider fully completed forms which have supporting documentation included with them. The Foundation does not offer loans. Applicants need to be aware that during the application process they will be asked very personal questions particularly regarding their finances and they will be required to provide documentation to support their responses.

Any decisions made will be final and binding, there is no appeal process. Should the Directors believe it appropriate for an application to be expedited then the Chair can agree that the full application process is not necessary.

To ensure the Foundation is able to help the optimum number of applicants per annum grants will normally be less than £1,000 unless there are exceptional circumstances. Payments will normally be made direct to the service/goods provider or if deemed appropriate to the applicant direct. In very exceptional circumstances the Directors may agree to make cash payments.

Grants must be for the relief of financial hardship among people living or working in countries where William Hill operates. Grants should provide such persons with goods/services which they could not otherwise afford through lack of means. William Hill employees and their families should benefit from the grant. A family member is likely to be a parent, brother, sister, daughter, son, husband, wife, civil partner, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, step parents, stepchild, grandparent and grandchild. Applications from colleagues who have retired/left for reasons of ill-health will be considered.

Those making applications will need to give adequate information to allow an informed decision to be made and must be prepared to answer probing personal questions. Applications are likely to be declined if the information provided is deemed not sufficient. In their response to the individual irrespective of the decision the Directors will seek to make recommendations for other sources of help and longer term support where applicable. The Directors will be particularly mindful of existing benefits already available to selected William Hill employees.

The application form is very explicit in detailing the information and detail required and applicants are strongly advised to consider the requirements carefully prior to completion.

Neither The William Hill Foundation, The William Hill HR Team or the Employee Assistance Programme are able to provide guidance as to whether or not an application would be successful as this is at the sole discretion of the Directors of the Foundation whose decision is final.

In October 2012 the William Hill Foundation confirmed it would sponsor the work at the Island Primary School in Kenya in conjunction with William Hill who funded the travel and accommodation for William Hill colleagues who went to Africa to work as part of the team. Our project teams made great progress in Africa over a three year period and we have committed to support the community until October 2017. To date William Hill colleagues have raised over £200,000 in support of Project Africa. We work with the head teacher, local landowners and our operations expert in Kenya as well as taking advice from other experts out in Africa. So far we have concentrated on developing the fundamental things needed at the school such as books, a library and clean water and then moved on to providing sponsorship for secondary education. Over the next couple of years our focus will be on sustainability, ensuring we leave a lasting legacy in Ol Maisor for years to come. We will be providing ongoing support and supplies to get the medical centre up and running. Click here to see the Project Africa photo gallery.

Donate now…
All funds raised will go direct to supporting the school in the future.

How you can donate…
Click on the button below, and it will take you to the William Hill Foundation MyDonate page, where you can pledge your donations, and read about what fundraising events will be coming up in the future .